Spring!

I must say, I'm looking forward to Spring.  It's been a long, dreary winter around here (nothing new there).  Our girls are starting to look a bit haggard, and, frankly, so am I!  The warmth of the spring/summer sun will be a welcome change. 

This was our first winter with the girls and aside from some missing feathers and boredom in the coop, it's gone pretty well.  I'm very grateful we put a heated waterer in the coop along with a nice heat lamp.  It kept our Happy Hens relatively happy and warm during some of those bone-chilling Wisconsin nights.  I know all of our hens will be very happy when they don't have to fret about the cold snow between their toes and they can scratch around the yard for grass and bugs n' such.

We do plan to add about 10 spring chicks to our big hen house.  I'd like to get a few more Easter Eggers, Welsummers, Australorps, and maybe a Barred Plymouth or Speckled Sussex or two.  While I'm excited about the arrival of the new girls, I'm a bit apprehensive due to some of the integration issues we've had in the past.  I've researched some ideas for a smoother transition from the brooder to the chicken condo that I think will be helpful.  I'll let y'all know how that goes later...

For now, think Spring and pray that our little groundhog friend, Punxsutawney Phil, knew what he was doing when he predicted an early Spring this year!